Moral Brains

The Neuroscience of Morality

S. Matthew Liao

The first volume to take stock of fifteen years of research in moral neuroscience

Recommends future directions for research in a fast-growing field

Brings together many of the leading international scientists in the neuroscientific study of morality

Moral Brains

The Neuroscience of Morality

S. Matthew Liao

Description

In the last fifteen years, there has been significant interest in studying the brain structures involved in moral judgments using novel techniques from neuroscience such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Many people, including a number of philosophers, believe that results from neuroscience have the potential to settle seemingly intractable debates concerning the nature, practice, and reliability of moral judgments. This has led to a flurry of scientific and philosophical activities, resulting in the rapid growth of the new field of moral neuroscience. There is now a vast array of ongoing scientific research devoted towards understanding the neural correlates of moral judgments, accompanied by a large philosophical literature aimed at interpreting and examining the methodology and the results of this research. This is the first volume to take stock of fifteen years of research of this fast-growing field of moral neuroscience and to recommend future directions for research. It features the most up-to-date research in this area, and it presents a wide variety of perspectives on this topic.

Moral Brains

The Neuroscience of Morality

S. Matthew Liao

Author Information

S. Matthew Liao is Director and Associate Professor of the Center for Bioethics, and Affiliated Professor in the Department of Philosophy at New York University. He is the author of The Right to Be Loved (Oxford University Press); co-editor of Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights (Oxford University Press); and over 50 articles in philosophy and bioethics. He has given a TED talk in New York, will give a TEDx talk at CERN in October, and has been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, the BBC, Harper's Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald, Scientific American and other media outlets. He is the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Moral Philosophy, a peer-reviewed international journal of moral, political and legal philosophy.

Contributors:

James Blair, National Institutes of HealthMolly Crockett, University of OxfordStephen Darwall, Yale UniversityJulia Driver, Washington University in Saint LouisPhilip Gerrans, University of AdelaideJoshua Greene, Harvard UniversitySoonjo Hwang, National Institutes of HealthJeanette Kennett, Macquarie UniversityGuy Kahane, University of OxfordS. Matthew Liao, New York UniversityHarma Meffert, National Institute of Mental HealthJorge Moll, D'Or Institute for Research and EducationRicardo de Oliveira-Souza, D'Or Institute for Research and EducationJesse Prinz, City University of New YorkJana Schaich Borg, Duke UniversityWalter Sinnott-Armstrong, Duke UniversityStuart F. White, National Institutes of Health James Woodward, University of PittsburghRoland Zahn, Institute of Psychiatry at King's College

Moral Brains

The Neuroscience of Morality

S. Matthew Liao

Reviews and Awards

"An accessible, comprehensive, and straightforward introduction to the neuroscientific study of morality and its use in philosophical arguments. The book aims to take stock of the last fifteen years of research and features fifteen essays by renowned scholars in the field. The comprehensive introduction by Liao and the book's reflections on the latest developments in the field set it apart from alternatives...researchers and students interested in morality today are well advised to be familiar with its neurological underpinnings, not only to gain more robust evidence about how 'we' think about morality but also to find out what kind of research would be needed to advance the philosophical debate. Reading this book will set them up to a solid start." --MetapsychologyOnline Reviews